You can be giving everyone the best of you AND still be running on empty. What happens when you finally choose yourself — and why that took courage for Nepia Takuira-Mita? Nepia Takuira-Mita is an actor, musician, and creative — known for his work on Ahikāroa, one of Aotearoa's first bilingual dramas. But before the screens and the stages, there was a kid raised on te reo Māori, kapa haka, and books, in a home with no TV, guided by parents who had the vision and courage to choose identity over convenience. In this kōrero, Nepia opens up about the season he's currently navigating: sobriety, intentionality, and the confronting work of turning his manaakitanga inward. He talks about learning to show up for himself, not instead of his whānau, BUT so he can show up better for them. This is a conversation about identity, creative purpose, what it means to be raised Māori in a world that doesn't always make that easy, and the quiet courage of choosing growth. Episode Breakdown Nepia's season of growth: sobriety, intentionality, and leaving alcohol on the table for something betterManaakitanga as a value that can turn into people-pleasing and how to reclaim it for yourselfHow a childhood without TV ironically led him to become a TV actorInsight into acting: theatre vs. film, intimacy coaches, and falling in love with storytelling on stageLanding the role on Ahikāroa, and what it meant to be part of Aotearoa's first bilingual dramaThe gap between what you post and how you actually feel, the cost of the grindLearning to ask for help, lean on people, and stop burning out quietlyWriting and performing "Lean On Me" AND the healing that came from singing it for the first timeMāori men, mental health, and finding ways to build momentum when life gets hardWhat drives him now: his babies, his partner, his whānau, and showing up for himself first Episode Links 🌿 Planting Seeds Community: www.skool.com/seeds-of-self💛 Support this episode with Bio Gold: use code SEEDS15 here
